SINGAPORE, October 6, 2022 – Wheel The World has emerged victorious in the first Global Startup Pitch, run by WiT and Phocuswright. The Grand Finals was held yesterday at WiT Singapore 2022. Wheel The World was also winner of the People’s Choice award.
The inaugural Global Startup Pitch kicked off earlier this year when close to 130 entries from travel startups were received from around the world. The list was whittled down to 30 – six startups from each region – APAC, India, Middle East Africa, Europe, Latin America, North America – competed in Round 1 in May. In the semi-finals in August, the list came down to 21 startups including a Wild Card category.
In yesterday’s Grand Finals, held physically after two rounds of virtual, the seven finalists were Away To Africa (Middle East Africa), Doinn (Europe), GOPASS Global (Wild Card), Pinquim (Latin America), Vervotech (India), Wheel The World (North America) and Worklounge (APAC).
Wheel The World wins the opportunity to present at Phocuswright in Arizona, November 17-19.
Joanna Gruau Buldón, Multi-day Trips Product Manager, Wheel The World, was in Singapore to represent the company at the Global Startup Pitch finals. She said, “It feels amazing, really. I’m the official face of Wheel The World right now but there’s an amazing team behind it and I’m so proud to be able to showcase them here.”
Wheel The World has emerged victorious in the first Global Startup Pitch, run by WiT and Phocuswright. (Pic credit: Wheel The World, Facebook)
Founded in 2018, Wheel the World’s platform offers accommodations, things to do and trips in over 50 destinations worldwide. It has an “Accessibility Mapping System” that has detailed information submitted by volunteers, such as hotel room and bed measurements, to help users decide if a travel experience is suitable.
WiT founder Yeoh Siew Hoon said, “Congratulations to Wheel The World. It’s been a long journey and I hope it’s been a rewarding one for all involved – all the startups who entered, those who made it into the pitching rounds and the Grand Finals, our sponsors and our judges.
“It’s been a true collaborative and hybrid endeavour, the kind we’ve seen engendered by the pandemic – virtual brought us together and in the end, we gathered physically to crown the winner and People’s Choice. We achieved our aim of uniting around innovation.”
Said Pete Comeau, managing director, Phocuswright, “Entrepreneurs thrive during times of crisis, and tomorrow’s travel tech leaders are incubating products and solutions today during this challenging time. Phocuswright is thrilled to partner with WiT to uncover the most promising pre-funded, early-stage companies who are poised to lead our industry through the recovery and beyond, helping us emerge as a stronger, bolder and better industry.”
Global Sponsors include Amadeus IT and Yanolja Cloud. Regional sponsors include JetBlue Ventures for North America , Cambon Partners for Europe and MakeMyTrip for South Asia/ASEAN/Pacific and MENA (Middle East/North Africa).
Both WiT and Phocuswright are wholly-owned by Northstar Travel Group.
